Perhaps we could reschedule. The only practical thing you can do is prepare for the world you live in. They used to kind of joke about the fire alarm being pulled and then a school shooting happened where a fire alarm was pulled and kids were shot leaving their classrooms/building. Ive never had (or heard of before now) building-specific active shooter training which is really sad because that would be so useful! If you do not own a car, you might be thinking that you got to pass all the car excuses. Something tells me the response on the other end of the phone wont be get well soon.. I have never ever called in sick for any reason other than actually being too sick to leave my bed. College is not a good excuse for not attending drill. Updated: Monday, March 20, 2017. This individual lived through a civil war in their country of origin and understandably was not keen on the idea of triggering difficult memories in a professional setting. Im probably among the youngest USians not to grow up with these drills; Columbine happened when I was in high school, and at that time we regarded it as an awful but anomalous eventwe had no idea what was coming. When I was at job from hell, looking at a full day meeting from hell that would solve nothing and put me in a similar place to the OP, I seriously considered getting takeout with my allergen in in, dramatically puking in a trashcan, and leaving for the evening/next day. You need to see that your fear is that a single instance will make you one of the people he isnt nice to, and that is terrifying. There is an entire industry built around mass shootings. excuses to get out of drill weekend - boxingaddictions.net otherwise you are going to end up in a more awkward situation. It has nothing to do with any practical benefit, IMO. With my tire being flat I've got no way of getting there unfortunately! Your Child Is Sick 5. It was on my mind constantly. I think Alisons advice is really good. Sometimes you just dont want to go to event and thats okay, we get it. This. You dont know how you will react until you are in a situation, but a one-time seven hour LARPing of a horrible situation will not help you and certainly can traumatize you. Often the service of someone so discharged will be characterized as general under honorable conditions or under other than honorable conditions. Some people either dont want any gun laws modified as they think that is the start of taking away all gun rights and also now there is such hatred for the political partyso their representatives vote against it. What are they planning for 7 hours? That said, carrying a concealed weapon is forbidden, and most cops only carry a taser unless theyre dealing with something like a hostage situation. Also want to say: I hear that there are differences between younger folks experience and us middle aged people who grew up prior to mass school shootings being so frequent. Published by at June 22, 2022. Generally youre not asked to disclose why youre opting out. I dont worry about gun violence in my daily life, like, ever. The US is particularly bad because of its gun laws. Absolutely unnecessary. Point being, opt out. one of the many lies that people tell themselves and others when they have to work with people who really arent that nice at all. That's fine. assigning women extra work to help them, calling out when youre in the ER, and more. I am tired and frustrated that my unit has decided to disrespect my schedule and time. Uggggghhhh. Im a big proponent of safety drills. This one will go prettywell,butwait! Officially remove hes a nice guy from the way you think about June because he is, in fact, not. But since you happen to be the person whorenegesquite frequently,havent you already used that one? I jumped straight to calling out sick, well before I got that part of Alisons answer. i would also call in sick to this. I already think about mass shootings every single day, including every time Im in a crowded public place, and while I would be happy to read about the hiding protocol or do a self-defense practice, the idea of experiencing a full-scale active simulation makes me feel physically ill. If he doubles down, especicially on the threatening to goad a potential shooter to shoot you instead (seriously wtf?!?!?) The one I attended was for an outbreak of Avian Flu. I told her that going forward, I would like the opportunity to work remotely on the days of drills or just use my leave entirely and she seemed open to it. Cain gives introverts the tools to better understand themselves and take full advantage of their strengths. Well. [M]onkey. because they all sound so real, dont they? As it is a work emergency,no one is going to know that you are bluffing. Make sure to tell them that your boss has been dismissing your concerns and you dont trust him to handle mental health issues with any seriousness. Im a teacher in a state where this type of yearly simulation training is a state requirement for school accreditation (it always happens on an in-service day without children in the building). Theyll know all the doors to block, all the hiding spots, all the weapons to hide. 2. Does this count as an excuse if its likely true? Unfortunately, David is your work colleague, and this party is a big deal for him. If you miss your drill weekend without contacting the Reserve unit and securing permission in advance, you incur an unexcused absence. Each person should be allowed to decide the risk-benefit of having the training versus the impact on their mental health. Ive asked for a more specific agenda but Im not sure I will get one. But the last one was letting us know that there were rumors of a violent event being planned for the next day. Just try to get through it and then enjoy your weekend! Like, the drill should be a relatively calm way to practice and build some muscle memory to rely on in case the thing happens. CLICK HERE to get your copy. Afterwards, we did a Run/Hide/Fight video, talked about some specific places for it in our building, and listened/watched some videos from an actual active shooter event from a few years before, as the video showed what police response would actually look like. Everyone knows how to call 911. It could be anxiety/PTSD or something else, regardless it puts them in a place to have the sick note for work if theres any pushback. This is awful, and overboard, and I want to have some firm words with your boss. I ended up going through orientation like four times, and in later ones I just stepped out of the room for that part. I grew up in an era when everything American was super cool and aspirational. I am fairly traumatized by all this, because what if it IS a fire and/or flood this time and not just a glitch in the system? 1. Divi Cakes main goal is to help the members of the Divi community find the perfect premium Divi themes, layouts, and plugins created by leading Divi developers and designers. I hope the party goes well; perhaps we could catch up on another day/ perhaps I could buy you a drink to make it up to you? They dont have any problem with reading anything, its the simulations. We then had a staff meeting to discuss their concerns and a number of my staff expressed anxiety about mass shootings, workplace shootings, and what their kids went through with drills at school. Save yourself the heartache and the stress. You're going to an important family event, 9. Her lashes arent jet black! As a side comment, if you have not yet sought out a mental health professional who is experienced in dealing with PTSD, you may wish to explore that at some point. No Daily Download Limit. So feel free to call in sick. You haven't started studying for your exam tomorrow. How did we let our country get to this point? this situation is hard enough without your boss being insensitive. TLDR: I need to do drills so emergency responders dont have to add dealing with me to their plate; it is my civic duty. Ive seen it enough years that I opted to just skip past the video in this years training module. There are contingency plans in our family if we were on a plane during a hijacking. Im so sorry youre in this position, OP. Privacy Policy. Make up a story of how your roommate needs your special attention since they are suffering from a fever. Its stupid and sexist, but it works. I am so sorry for you and your child. Theyll probably be asking if youre okay the second they see you. Im sorry for the loss of your loved one and for your own experience too. Never the Right Word is a participant in the Awin Affiliates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to participating merchants. Theyd just experienced one in their community. She was fine, thank goodness. So it just doesnt arise as a thought in the way that, say, the possibility of sexual harassment or sexual violence is always part of my situational awareness. Total wild west time no supervision by an expert or law enforcement. If your employer or client asks why you can't or don't want to work on the weekends, you are not obligated to provide a reason. It gets so much worse! . If anything would persuade me to learn how to do make-up well, its this lmao. consider that he might be telling the truth. Reading your letter, I immediately jumped to the call out sick recommendation. Unless a midterm or final is involved, college is not an excuse or missing drill. Hell yeah, why not. He took one look at me and sent me home, I was obviously in no fit state to work. Its much, much better. I worked somewhere where we had to do Run-Hide-Fight training. Ive had to listen to presentations or watch video training on this throughout my career, and I always thought wouldnt an employee or student who became an active shooter have gone through this training too? I like Alisons phrasing for what to say to your boss, it doesnt necessarily imply mental health issues, just that you have a past experience that makes this too close to home. A headache isntsevere enough to render you useless for a long period of time but its bad enough that itll get you out of a social engagement. I am well into Gen X and we did an active shooter training and I hated every moment of it. An avian flu outbreak was even the disaster they had to simulate! There are many reasons why people volunteer, including: Women volunteered more than men (28.3% compared to 21.8%), as measured across demographics including age, education level, and ethnicity. oh no, youre coming down with a bad cold the day before & have to leave early & advise youll wont be in the next day. My kingdom for sensible, trauma-informed, non-security-theater workplace safety training. Now that my eldest is in school, I am grateful every day that I married a British man and moved to his hometown. Why the hell did you make so many freakin plans? 9 Foolproof Excuses To Get Out Of Your Weekend Plans - Junkee We had a workplace training at OldJob that was a full day. Training taken out of orientation, alert system stays. I don't know how it was in the reserves, but in the Nasty Guard you had to make up the time and have a damn good exscuse. I feel for all of you whove been affected by this, any of this. Although in some professions, working on Saturdays or Sundays is necessary in order to make progress on your projects, oftentimes you may want to tell your boss you do not want to work weekends. A total of 27.2% of working people volunteered, compared to just 21.4% of unemployed people. Others believe that you should use your weekends to relax and recharge. Her students are fifth graders, so ages 10-11. Thats just totally unreasonable. I have no idea what kind of training could possible take seven hours. Somehow, the solution is always more guns. This means that if youre a devout member of a particular religious faith that has weekend devotion, you have the right to do so without fear of losing your job. The babysitter just called and told me she c. nt make it today Thats all you need to say to them. I appreciate that my kiddos school practices emergency in a general sensehere are our hiding spots, could be something weather related or physical security related. Being broke sucks and everyone knows it. Your boss sounds like an as**. Ugh. Same with mine; customized by law enforcement but the only customization was Oh yeah all your doors are glass so hiding isnt an option! I grew up in the Seventies and Eighties in the UK with the IRA. He does not understand the psychic toll that shootings have taken on many people in my generation and does not understand that anxiety means something more than just sort of worried about something.. Also: Now after 30 years, trying to get out of teaching. And leaving them alone would be a big question mark to the whole face of humanity. excuses to get out of drill weekend - shantisrl.com except that some law enforcement dont recommend doing this because in the event of an active shooter, its a high probability going to be an employee or former employee. Not the building burning down. The babysitter just called and told me she couldnt make it today Thats all you need to say to them. I suppose on some level I feel like, there is nothing I can do to prevent it if its going to happen, and I dont have the reflexes that drilling would train into me to be assessing or thinking about what I might do if it did. If you are deemed unfit for duty, you will be sent home. Make up a story of how your roommate needs your special attention since they are suffering from a. fever. That was about it. If the host does not know about your dating life, you can easily go with this one. This means that a significant proportion of the volunteer labor force comes from people who are already occupied with paid labor elsewhere. Shop hundreds of premium Divi products like Divi child themes, Divi layouts, and Divi plugins on Divi Cake, the community-driven Divi Marketplace. (Enough Benadryl cures the symptoms, so I could have been better by the evening), I chickened out. So, maybe next time? Asking the host for a favor right before they are holding a party is going to result in your favor. Its a little trickier because youve already told him youd rather not attend, but if this is the easiest of the options for you, you can do it. I think practicing repeating whatever line works for you, to avoid being needled by him about it in future, might be worthwhile. You have a family emergency. In public places, in crowds, out and aboutits not a risk thats on my mind at all. It is never a fun conversation but it is a necessary conversation in this era of teaching. Hes a nice person but has very deeply entrenched ideas about mental health, anxiety, young people, and triggers, and I dont want to have to disclose my own mental health diagnoses to him, make him think Im simply not tough enough to handle it, or come across like a millennial snowflake, etc. different employees pretending to be the shooter, complete with something like a pellet gun or paint gun, one of the factory guys had a turn at being shooter and took out some aggression on management. The cop who did presented on active shooter protocols casually started discussing a mall shooting in another state part way through the training. Criminals have bad aim and bullets dont discriminate. As someone old enough that I had to worry about this in high school and now I have to see my kid doing active shooter drills, I absolutely think people who did not grow up in a similar situation do not understand how very different it is having lived with it much of our lives. I think we had more on a Friday afternoon at 3 PM, but we also have them at 11 PM and other times the office is closed. but never a real simulation. Many many pointed questions would be asked, if they are going to make me go through that kinda nonsense Im going to insist that they are asked as many uncomfortable preparedness questions as possible. I used to live in a country that had earthquake drills. he is not a nice guy. We had emergency drill training (which did include a segment on active shooters), and from the get go there were multiple training options presented. Absolutely, the outdoors are great! them how you need to fill up for one of your colleagues for an extra shi. It turned out nobody really cared that I wasnt able to make it to the training and nobody mentioned it ever again so hopefully your absence will be a non-issue. Security performance theater indeed. No job is worth your life. Ill explain later. Gathering up glassware in the science lab, students making comments about taking bullets for each other or even their teachers (which, just, no). A colleague is American and was home over the Christmas holidays. She realized after they should not have made those jokes where I could hear them (though I understand you sometimes need dark humor to deflect your own discomfort). Even if that number never shows up. Since BA schedules are published well in advance, Soldiers have plenty of warning and should plan accordingly. -Your job prevents you from attending (you must provide documentation from your employer) They cant ask to leave them alone at home nor do theywant their party blessed by the presence of these little party wreckers. You could also make up a fake relative, or say that you knew someone who died in x major shooting event. I imagine the people who put these together were just as out of touch as this boss. Your goal should be TO LEARN during the drill, not avoid it. I think Im about same age as you. But theres no reason why you cannot ask in advance for a weekend where youre not rostered on. We dont need to be afraid, we need to be prepared. Which will be entirely true. Wtaf. If youre interested in further reading, weve also included links to our trusted resources and related posts below. (He had zero experience in law enforcement and the military.) You can opt out the same way you opt out of team trust falls and workplace hotdog eating contests. Literally every soldier here has multiple stories they can tell similar to this. Also if this bunghole tries to make you feel weak for not being up for it, remember that standing up to him is a strong choice in itself. I wish people understood that our country has to do this because literally people (and lots of children!) Im sure your guests wouldnt want me coming and spreading the germs anyway! Hey [Name], Im going to stay home tonight as things just ended with [Insert Your Partners Name]. I am in my twenties, and I grew up in the modern era of mass shootings. No?). This means that you are no longer allowed to serve in the reserves and will have to leave immediately. Here are the best way you can write a professional email at work! Im a designer-by-day whos fascinated by human psychology; youll find me learning about what makes others tick through all types of media and good old-fashioned conversation. Take more than a day offI suggest you take the following day off, too. 9 Best Practices for Career Success in Your 20s, no.7 get you Promoted, 10 Effective Ways to Deal with Gossip at Work, 7 Common Types of Spam Emails and How to Identify, How to Write a Professional Email At Work (with Examples), how to tell your boss you are not working on weekends professionally, between 10 and 14 days of paid vacation per year, US Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, importance of fostering a work-life balance, How to Introduce Yourself at First Day of Work (with Examples), 5 Best Types of Goal Setting Techniques (Succeeding at Work), 10 Basic Types of Leadership Styles and How to Find Your Own, Bad Boss? Bomb threats were a constant fact of life. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Ive been fine since then knowing in advance it would happen and simply closing my door. My work has a (pretty upsetting) active shooter training video they play at new employee orientation. Content warning for anyone who (like me) was curious about this and did google for the original news story: many of the top links I found in the google results included detailed descriptions of the fake-shooters other, unrelated charges (abuse of a minor). My university installed Bleeding Control Kits on *every* floor of *every* building a couple years ago. Lastly, if you found this content helpful or want to share your own examples, let us know in the comments.